Geneva's Very Own Matt Rodewald Wins Emmy Awards for NBC-5

Geneva High School grad continues to shine in the WMAQ spotlight, and now in the Emmy Awards.

Rodewald won one Emmy outirght and was part of a team that won another at the 53^rd Annual Chicago Midwest Emmy Awards, which took place Monday night at the Alhambra Palace in Chicago. NBC 5 Chicago walked away with three awards in the specialty series, special event coverage and interactivity categories.

"This was a total shock to me. It was a surprise to be even nominated, but to win was a real stunner for my wife, Lindy, and I," Rodewald said.

"If you'd have asked me four years ago before I took this job that'd I would have been on stage accepting an Emmy, I would have laughed. It's been a fun journey and a rewarding challenge to push myself as far as I can go in this business. I owe a lot to NBC for taking a chance on a kid who never had a TV job before and even more to NAVTEQ for introducing me to the traffic world."

Rodewald won outright in the category of "Outstanding Achievement for News Specialty Assignment Report/Series" for his reporting on a story titled, "The Sign Says." Here's a link.

"The story was a fun piece that explored how highway signs are made, and we did our best to try showcase the enormity of the process," Rodewald said. "I've always been curious about how it all works, so this project was a real treat for me."

Rodewald also was part of a team that won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Achievement for Special Event Coverage—Live for "NBC 5 Presents the 2011 Chicago Auto Show."

The winning team included producers Carol Cooling, Matt Piacente, Geoff Glick, Edward Mann, co-producers/hosts Brant Miller, Ginger Zee, Charlie Wojciechowski, Paula Faris, LeeAnn Trotter and Rodewald and co-producers Tony Vitale, Patrick Lake, Trisha Hockings, Jan Golden, Mary Hynes, Alison Ebert and Jessica Brannon Kelly.

NBC-5 also won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Achievement for Interactivity for "Facebook Friends to the Rescue."